Chadwick High’s strategy was to wear down its smaller opponent, Pasadena Poly, by running the ball early. The strategy worked to perfection.

After a first half that saw Chadwick with minus-8 yards, the offense got it together in the second half, scoring 10 points on its first two drives against a tiring Poly defense. The Chadwick defense, led by junior Trevor Niemann, made the lead hold up for a 10-6 Prep League victory Saturday afternoon at Poly High.

Poly (3-4, 1-2) ran the ball at will in the first half, thanks to senior running back Adam Burpee who gained 54 yards and set up Eric Chalifour field goals from 32 and 37 yards to make it 6-0 at halftime.

“Our game plan was to be physical early and try to take away their speed,” Chadwick coach Gary Willison said. “Our defense stepped it up for us and kept us in the game until our offense could get it going.”

After the Chadwick defense forced Poly to punt on its first drive of the second half, the Dolphins offense went to work at their 42. Senior Mike Madden ran for nine yards, then junior quarterback Jordan Agnew connected with Niemann for a 30-yard pass to the Poly 19.

Four plays later, Niemann lined up at quarterback and scored on a one-yard plunge, giving Chadwick (5-3, 2-1) a 7-6 lead with just six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Moments later, after a Poly punt gave Chadwick the ball at the Poly 49, the offense moved to the Poly 5, where Nick Segal made a 22-yard field goal.

“Our offense was out of sync in the first half,” said Agnew, who had 112 of his 120 yards passing in the second half.